March 1, 2026

DTL - Part 17: The Omega of Evil

DTL - Part 17: The Omega of Evil
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Season 9

Derrick Todd Lee makes his way to Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. While his reign of evil and terror upon South Louisiana was over, his mere existence would leave a lasting effect on those who would cross his path. 
Derrick Todd Lee (DTL) terrorized the Baton Rouge and Lafayette Louisiana. A Serial Killer who took the lives of at least (7) women in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, Lee’s reign of terror finally ended in late May of 2003 when he was captured in Atlanta, GA after being linked by DNA to several of the murders.
This is DTL  Hosted by Kelly Jennings and produced by the experts at Envision Podcast Productions

Timestamps:
00:44 Entering Angola: A New Reality
04:17 Life on Death Row
07:58 The Prison's Daily Grind
12:00 The Isolation of Death Row
18:54 Reflections in Solitude
27:26 The Final Days
28:07 Remembering the Victims

For Media or Advertising Inquiries 
Envisionpodcaststudios@gmail.com

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In the sultry heat of Louisiana, where the Bayous whisper

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secrets and the air hangs heavy with the scent of magnolias,

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a darkness lurked beneath the surface. Derrick Todd Lee was

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a man whose charm masked a sinister reality.

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He was a monster.

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Lee, a seemingly ordinary man with a disarming smile, led

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a double life that would unravel in a series of

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murders in the capital city of Baton Rouge and the

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surrounding areas. As the first reports of disappearances and murders

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began to surface, South Louisiana was thrust into a nightmare,

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igniting a frantic search for answers. The true horror was

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just beginning, and the hunt for a serial killer eventually

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known by just three letters, would reveal not only the

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depths of Dereck Todd Lee's depravity, but also the resilience

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of those most affected by his evil acts, the families

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and the survivors.

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This is DTA.

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When you approach the front gates of Louisiana State Penitentiary

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at Angola, it's a rather unimpressive site compared to its

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larger than life reputation. Many would assume there would be

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tall walls and gun guards with barred windows and angry

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men all over the place, but in reality it's the

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polar opposite. Pulling up to the entrance, it's blocked by

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only two arms, much like those seen at a railroad crossing,

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one for entering and one for exiting, with a small

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guard shack in between. There's a small building outside the

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gates to the right where the public can tour the

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once bank turned historical museum about the prison. Oftentimes there

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are men in white uniforms or even blue jeans with

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a T shirt walking about as well. The average person

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would never know that these men are in fact inmates

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walking right outside the prison gate with no security, no shackles, nothing.

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These inmates are trustees and they've earned the right to

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the highest level of freedoms around the prison. And they

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have purpose, of course, being this close to the entrance

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of the prison grounds. They work as orderlies at the

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museum or at the other offices right at the entrance.

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These guys have been down, as they say, for a

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long time and understand that freedom is a precious thing. Typically,

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they have been in prison for more than ten years,

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have no ride ups while in prison. They aren't young,

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so they won't be running fast, and they don't have

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crimes sexual in nature. They are considered a low risk

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offender compared to others at the prison at least, and

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they follow the rules. They don't go where they're not allowed,

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and they keep a low profile. Simple as that, anytime

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a vehicle wants to pass through the gate, a guard

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comes out and takes a head count of those in

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the vehicle.

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The rule of the gate is simple.

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The same amount of people that enter the prison grounds

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must be the same nome umber of people that exit

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the prison grounds, minus the obvious offender being brought in.

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Of course, Derek Todd Lee sat in the vehicle as

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this process took place. After verification of who was in

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the vehicle and clearance was given, the arm raised and

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the van drove through. Derek wasn't greeted with the pomp

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and circumstance or media circus rather that he was used

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to since his identity was uncovered as the serial killer

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of Baton Rouge. No cameras flashing, no one calling out

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his name for comment, none of that. He was now

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just another bad guy entering a place that he would

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never leave. He was no different than the other near

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five thousand killers, rapists and felons behind those gates. He

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just happened to kill more.

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Than most of them.

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Thing was, though Derek's position had now greatly shifted, he

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had spent enough time behind bars to know this fact.

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See the population he would now be amongst. They weren't

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afraid of him. He couldn't learn and stalk and attack

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unsuspecting women, forcing them into sexual submission. Here, because the

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prison was an all male maximum security prison, the looks

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from other inmates set it all. You, my guy, are

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now outmanned and outmatched as far as fear goes. Plus,

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you're a sex offender, and no one, especially the other inmates,

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likes a sex offender. Real men don't abuse women, they

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don't kill them, but they sure as hell don't rape them.

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Every man behind.

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Those walls had done dirt themselves, no doubt, But they

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also had mamas and sisters and nieces and grandmothers, and

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there's almost an honor amongst felons when it comes to

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not raping women and children. To some this may seem

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rather hypocritical, but be what it may, it is the

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mindset if an inmate killed someone in a drug turf battle.

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They see that murder as almost a soldier mentality. I

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hate saying that because our military does doesn't deserve the insult.

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Understand here, what I mean is street soldier mentality.

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It is what it is.

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They see it as a casualty of the game, so

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to speak. But when someone rapes women or rapes children,

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even cold blooded murderers, draw the line there. If you

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fall into that category, you can bet that you're not

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going to have much success making a ton of friends

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behind bars. Considering how widespread Derek Lee's case had been

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and that it was in the news for years, everyone

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would know his charges. On prison grounds, you don't openly

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talk about another inmate's charges. Why well, because in cases

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just like this, they will become targets amongst the population.

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Inmates often lie.

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Or even conveniently leave out any sexual transgressions when inmates

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talk amongst themselves, because they know this unofficial rule. Sexual

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predators have it the worst. Derek's first stop would have

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been in what is known as classification. These employees are

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tasked with determining housing, custody and quarters of the new intake.

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Housing is where you live on the grounds Custody is

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how much security you will be under, and quarters is

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which dorm you will be assigned to within the prison

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where you are housed. While this isn't an official rule

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or anything. At main prison you have an east yard

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and a west yard, and they're separated, although part of

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the same complex. East yard at that time had many

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of the guys that had been down a long time.

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The West yard while ast the inmates, and they'll tell

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you they call it the wild wild West. Newer and

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younger inmates often on that side, are housed there because

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they still feel like they have something to prove, fighting

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and carrying on. Old timers don't want any part of

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that nonsense. They just want to get on with their day,

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often resigned to the fact that they won't win when

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bucking up, and the calmer the better it is for everyone.

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But this classification process for old Derek would be a

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rather easy one.

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His housing was death.

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No need to scour the prison for bed availability at

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the multiple camps spread out over the eighteen thousand acres

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of prison ground. Nope, he was going to the most

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restrictive building on the prison grounds. So housing check custody, well,

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it's obviously maximum so check. The only thing left was quarters,

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meaning which tier would he be placed on? And I'll

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get to that in just a second. See Angola was

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once a slave plantation that would eventually be sold to

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the state in nineteen hundred. It isn't like the prison

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you see on TV. It's really just a huge farm,

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and that's why the nickname for the prison is the farm.

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Tons of crops are grown across the property by inmates.

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It's part of a money saving venture where inmates grow

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the very food that they eat. Of course, other items

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are brought in two but as far as vegetables go,

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they are grown on location. Again, Derek wouldn't have to

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be assigned a job on site like picking crops, because

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he wouldn't even have that opportunity. No jobs are given

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for those sentenced to die by the state. Other inmates

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can have a multitude of jobs, ones that mimic that

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in a small city, picking crops, maintenance and repair on

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cars and machinery, kitchen worker, even inmate lawyer. Of course

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they aren't real lawyers, but they can help those who

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cannot read or write well, or look up cases in

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the law library within the prison for them. And before

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you get all up in your fields about inmates who

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can't read well. These guys sure can pull triggers and

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rape and rob folks. They aren't at Angola for missing church.

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Either way, Derek Lee wouldn't be assigned any of this.

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He would get to sit in his cell all day

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long with nothing to pass the time. The prison isn't

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just one big building either. There's main prison which houses

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the majority of the minimum and medium custody inmates, as

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well as other small buildings dotted around the property, referred

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to as camps. They are identified in an alphabetic way.

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Camps A through J were the original camps, but over

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time many of those have been.

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Condemned or closed due to budget cuts.

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Death Row is housed on the very back of the

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property and it's its own separate entity. To get to

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it requires driving because it is so far to the

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rear of the prison, walking would simply be out of

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the question. From the front gates, Derek Lee was once

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again loaded into a vehicle and they began to long

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drive down the winding roads. As he looked out the

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window of his unfamiliar new surroundings, it looked more like

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farmland than a prison. As the roads weave in and out.

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He was driven past the grazing cows and the rows

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of crops. Trustee inmates on horseback doing cowboy work in

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the fields. Not an officer in sight, but the men

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do as they're supposed to do. His vehicle eventually came

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to a crossroad where he saw a church. All he

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would ever do is see it too, because he would

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not get access to that building where he was going.

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Murky pond surrounded the road at this point. Egrets pecking

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at the tiny fish hoping for a meal, and even

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an alligator could be seen slowly sliding off into the

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dark water as the vehicle spooped.

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Them passing by.

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Within a minute of passing this pond, his van would

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drive past the place he had heard a lot about.

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And it wasn't Death Row, believe it or not. It

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was the death House, located directly next door to Death Row.

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This was the place that he would be put to

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death when the time eventually came. It was a small

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building with an even smaller room inside in the corner,

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which was the infamous execution chamber. Inside there a small

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bed secured to the floor and large leather straps attached

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around all of these used to secure the offender to

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the table before the needle is inserted and the deadly

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cocktail of execution drugs begins to flow.

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He couldn't see the.

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Chamber, of course, but he knew it was in there.

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Funny how it doesn't even seem real until you actually

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see something in real life, much like the crime scene

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photos that the jury looked at as they saw the

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result of Derek's brute as he committed unfathomable harm against

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those women. It's almost just a story until it's in

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your face. While he showed very little emotion as they

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passed by, his eyes read the sign and stayed fixed

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on that building until out of eyesight. But execution wouldn't

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be taking place anytime soon. The people of Louisiana knew this,

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as did he. Executions take a long time to actually enforce.

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The most recent one, however, hadn't been that far back

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from the day that Derek arrived. Leslie Martin, who raped

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and murdered nineteen year old college student Christina Bergen, had

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been put to death in that very room on May tenth,

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two thousand and two. Proof that executions may take time,

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but they eventually do happen. His van finally came to

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a stop in front of Derek's new home. There was

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no welcome matt nor window to peep inside and get

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a glimpse without anyone knowing he was there. They all

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knew he was there, and no one would be taken

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by surprise this time when first laying eyes on Death Row.

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It's a very average looking one story building. Other than

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all of the fencing and constantine wire, most camps and

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the main prison building have tall chain link fences securing

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the perimeter. There's actually two fences that run parallel to

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each other, one on the exterior of every prison building

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around the inmates. The second fence is on the other

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side of that fence. The two fences have a space

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between them of about a few feet, and both are

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lined at the top with constantine wire, razor sharp and

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slicing anything that tries to go over it. Basically, if

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an inmate were to somehow scale the first fence and

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not be totally sliced up on the fall down, he

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would get to do it all over again after just

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taking a few steps forward where the second fence was.

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The gap between the fences can also allow for perimeter

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dogs to patrol if necessary. There are towers along the

234
00:12:54.519 --> 00:12:57.840
fence line as well, where, based on budget, gun guards

235
00:12:57.840 --> 00:13:00.320
sit and watch the fence line for any movie meant

236
00:13:00.399 --> 00:13:03.320
or alert. If that isn't enough to persuade an inmate

237
00:13:03.320 --> 00:13:06.200
to stay away, there are also shaker alarms on the fencing,

238
00:13:06.240 --> 00:13:09.080
which go off should the fence be rattled by someone trying.

239
00:13:08.879 --> 00:13:12.000
To scale it. Overall, it's very simple.

240
00:13:12.559 --> 00:13:14.919
Anyone gets within a few feet of the fence, let

241
00:13:14.919 --> 00:13:18.200
alone touch it, shoot them. The inmates know they rule

242
00:13:18.240 --> 00:13:21.039
well and unless they have a death wish, they abide

243
00:13:21.039 --> 00:13:21.360
by it.

244
00:13:22.679 --> 00:13:22.879
Now.

245
00:13:22.919 --> 00:13:24.919
Death Row, back when Derek Todd Lee was there, was

246
00:13:24.960 --> 00:13:27.480
a bit different than it is today, but some things

247
00:13:27.519 --> 00:13:30.919
haven't changed. Death Row was originally right at the front

248
00:13:30.960 --> 00:13:33.679
gates as you approach the prison grounds, a building you

249
00:13:33.720 --> 00:13:36.080
can see just to the right of the entrance, but

250
00:13:36.159 --> 00:13:38.639
the newer and current death Row is at the back

251
00:13:38.679 --> 00:13:42.159
of the prison grounds. These fences have much more razor

252
00:13:42.200 --> 00:13:44.919
wire on them than the other camps do. The gates

253
00:13:44.960 --> 00:13:47.840
out front are tall and made of chain link, controlled

254
00:13:47.879 --> 00:13:50.320
by a person in a control center, and no two

255
00:13:50.440 --> 00:13:53.679
gates will ever open at the same time. That's prison

256
00:13:53.720 --> 00:13:56.960
one oh one. If two gates are open, an inmate

257
00:13:57.000 --> 00:13:59.919
can escape much easier. If only one gate is open,

258
00:14:00.279 --> 00:14:03.480
then he can run but straight into the next closed gate.

259
00:14:04.039 --> 00:14:06.480
It's much like the same setup at the zoo. Have

260
00:14:06.600 --> 00:14:09.360
you ever paid attention to the tiger enclosure. There isn't

261
00:14:09.440 --> 00:14:12.519
just one gate to enter. That would be crazy. There

262
00:14:12.519 --> 00:14:16.799
are always two, one outside the other. It's a safeguard.

263
00:14:17.000 --> 00:14:19.799
Should the internal gate be breached, there's a second one

264
00:14:19.919 --> 00:14:23.440
for backup. Nobody wants a predator out on the loose.

265
00:14:24.559 --> 00:14:26.960
Derek would be ushered back through the series of gates

266
00:14:26.960 --> 00:14:29.480
and doors to the building, which is a slow process

267
00:14:29.519 --> 00:14:32.639
in and of itself. Go through one gate, wait for

268
00:14:32.679 --> 00:14:35.559
it to close, Approach the next gate, wait for it

269
00:14:35.600 --> 00:14:39.639
to open. This process repeated over and over and over

270
00:14:39.759 --> 00:14:43.240
through the series of gates and doors. Entering the lobby,

271
00:14:43.480 --> 00:14:44.679
it's a small area with.

272
00:14:44.639 --> 00:14:45.399
A few chairs.

273
00:14:45.639 --> 00:14:47.639
There's a hall to the right, of course, through a

274
00:14:47.679 --> 00:14:51.480
locked door that leads past the non contact visitation rooms.

275
00:14:52.120 --> 00:14:54.840
Death row visits are far more restrictive in nature than

276
00:14:54.879 --> 00:14:58.440
your average inmate visit. Even the attorneys sit in small

277
00:14:58.519 --> 00:15:01.799
rooms divided by glass. A phone wall used to communicate.

278
00:15:02.600 --> 00:15:04.799
Derek would also learn that he would be shackled during

279
00:15:04.840 --> 00:15:07.720
his visits as well. The other parts of the prison

280
00:15:07.759 --> 00:15:11.159
have contact visits in big rooms with tables and food

281
00:15:11.200 --> 00:15:14.320
and all the like, but not here. As he passed

282
00:15:14.360 --> 00:15:17.200
down that hall, he would come face to face with

283
00:15:17.279 --> 00:15:20.360
the belly of the beast. Control center is in the

284
00:15:20.399 --> 00:15:23.440
middle and manned by officers, watching the doors and the gates,

285
00:15:23.720 --> 00:15:27.600
as well as cell blocks for any movement therein. Derek

286
00:15:27.679 --> 00:15:29.519
had been assigned to a tier back when he was

287
00:15:29.559 --> 00:15:33.720
in classification. A tier is basically a long hallway. There

288
00:15:33.720 --> 00:15:37.519
are concrete floors on the right, a solid center block

289
00:15:37.600 --> 00:15:40.360
wall with two or three small windows spaced out to

290
00:15:40.440 --> 00:15:43.919
let in some natural light. Bars of course cover those windows.

291
00:15:44.600 --> 00:15:47.759
There are also fans mounted every few feet which blow around.

292
00:15:47.559 --> 00:15:51.360
The hot air. Yes hot. Why is that?

293
00:15:52.120 --> 00:15:55.759
Well, it's because there is no air condition at Angola.

294
00:15:56.600 --> 00:15:59.360
Inmates of course complain about this and how cruel it is.

295
00:15:59.720 --> 00:16:01.679
But I'd just like to give you a word about

296
00:16:01.679 --> 00:16:06.320
this real quick. I worked there. I personally walked those

297
00:16:06.360 --> 00:16:10.279
tiers and those hallways. This meant I too was in

298
00:16:10.279 --> 00:16:14.200
the non air conditioned environment with them. I was carrying

299
00:16:14.279 --> 00:16:17.639
bags and paperwork and doing my job while they sat

300
00:16:17.919 --> 00:16:21.600
and did nothing. If soldiers fighting for freedom can do

301
00:16:21.639 --> 00:16:24.000
so in hot air, and the officers can do their

302
00:16:24.080 --> 00:16:28.080
jobs in hot air, so can the inmates. Fans and

303
00:16:28.200 --> 00:16:31.360
ice water are obviously available to combat the high temps.

304
00:16:32.240 --> 00:16:35.600
There's also a few small TVs mounted in between the fans,

305
00:16:35.639 --> 00:16:38.759
but no sound comes out of them. Inmates are allowed

306
00:16:38.799 --> 00:16:41.000
headphones that they can listen through if they want to,

307
00:16:41.279 --> 00:16:43.360
but if they want to watch, they'll have to stand

308
00:16:43.399 --> 00:16:45.799
at the bars unless they look up and their cell

309
00:16:45.879 --> 00:16:48.360
is right in front of a TV. On the other

310
00:16:48.440 --> 00:16:51.320
side of the tier are the single man cells. There's

311
00:16:51.360 --> 00:16:55.080
twelve to sixteen cells per tier. They are separated by

312
00:16:55.159 --> 00:16:57.679
a cinder block wall so the inmates on the tier

313
00:16:57.919 --> 00:17:01.360
can't see each other. Walked on the tier, taking it

314
00:17:01.399 --> 00:17:04.119
all in. He was escorted to the first one, where

315
00:17:04.119 --> 00:17:05.200
he stopped.

316
00:17:05.079 --> 00:17:06.839
And the metal bar slowly opened.

317
00:17:07.640 --> 00:17:10.960
He walked inside the roughly eight by ten area, noticing

318
00:17:11.000 --> 00:17:13.400
the metal bunk bed attached to the wall to his right.

319
00:17:13.960 --> 00:17:16.279
Directly on the back wall was a mounted toilet and

320
00:17:16.319 --> 00:17:19.720
a sink combo. A metal mirror above that was also

321
00:17:19.880 --> 00:17:23.119
mounted and attached to the wall. There was also a

322
00:17:23.119 --> 00:17:25.960
small metal table mounted to the left wall with a

323
00:17:26.000 --> 00:17:29.160
metal stool mounted to the concrete. In the seconds it

324
00:17:29.160 --> 00:17:32.119
took for him to explore his rather cold and bland surroundings.

325
00:17:32.559 --> 00:17:36.319
The metal door behind him slammed shut, a noise that

326
00:17:36.440 --> 00:17:38.680
anyone who has ever heard it will tell you you

327
00:17:38.759 --> 00:17:42.359
can never unhear it. It's the sound of freedom being

328
00:17:42.440 --> 00:17:47.000
taken away. He turned around, and, still handcuffed, he slid

329
00:17:47.000 --> 00:17:49.160
his wrist through the hole in the metal bars, where

330
00:17:49.160 --> 00:17:51.920
the officer then uncuffed him and walked off the tier.

331
00:17:53.079 --> 00:17:56.519
Derek's days of riding in a car or even seeing

332
00:17:56.519 --> 00:18:00.440
outside clearly were over. He would never ride up bike,

333
00:18:00.880 --> 00:18:03.319
or go fishing or feel the rain on.

334
00:18:03.319 --> 00:18:05.240
His skin ever again.

335
00:18:06.160 --> 00:18:11.279
No soft carpet, no warm coffee, no bed with a comforter,

336
00:18:12.359 --> 00:18:15.839
no hugs from his family, and most importantly, he would

337
00:18:15.960 --> 00:18:21.079
never be able to stalk, attack, rape, or murder anyone

338
00:18:21.119 --> 00:18:24.680
ever again. Sure, he would be allowed out of his

339
00:18:24.759 --> 00:18:27.440
cell one hour a day, three days of the week,

340
00:18:27.759 --> 00:18:31.440
but that would still be time spent alone bad weather.

341
00:18:31.880 --> 00:18:35.200
He wouldn't be allowed to go outside good weather. He

342
00:18:35.240 --> 00:18:38.160
would be escorted outside, but only to a chained in

343
00:18:38.240 --> 00:18:42.319
area which resembled a large dog pin concrete bottom chain

344
00:18:42.359 --> 00:18:45.720
link fencing all along the side and the top there

345
00:18:45.759 --> 00:18:48.240
is a basketball goal, but he would never be allowed

346
00:18:48.240 --> 00:18:52.359
to play with anyone that was it. There wasn't anything

347
00:18:52.359 --> 00:18:58.480
else left for him to do. Sit, stand, eat, sleep,

348
00:18:59.519 --> 00:19:05.240
maybe just maybe think. Think about how one of the

349
00:19:05.279 --> 00:19:08.799
women he thought he would rape and kill had survived.

350
00:19:09.599 --> 00:19:12.440
Not only that, but she had faced him in court

351
00:19:12.680 --> 00:19:18.079
and just feet away from him, told everyone everything. Diane

352
00:19:18.119 --> 00:19:22.200
Alexander had shown immense strength and grace under pressure during

353
00:19:22.240 --> 00:19:23.039
her testimony.

354
00:19:23.720 --> 00:19:26.440
He may have won that battle, but he had lost

355
00:19:26.480 --> 00:19:27.000
that war.

356
00:19:27.599 --> 00:19:30.240
He had time to think about how Prosecutor Tony Clayton,

357
00:19:30.440 --> 00:19:33.319
a fellow black man, had handed his ass to him

358
00:19:33.359 --> 00:19:37.519
in court. Two black men from similar backgrounds and the

359
00:19:37.559 --> 00:19:40.799
same state, yet they sat in the very same courtroom,

360
00:19:41.039 --> 00:19:44.559
but on very different sides of the aisle. One a

361
00:19:44.680 --> 00:19:48.400
rapist and murderer, the other an impressive prosecutor wanting to

362
00:19:48.440 --> 00:19:51.920
seek justice for the victims and their families, one who

363
00:19:52.279 --> 00:19:54.960
hated women, raping and killing them because he knew he

364
00:19:54.960 --> 00:19:58.200
could never have them. The other a husband and a

365
00:19:58.240 --> 00:20:01.400
proud father of daughters whom he could never imagine someone

366
00:20:01.480 --> 00:20:04.559
hurting like this guy did these poor women. And when

367
00:20:04.559 --> 00:20:06.839
he complained that he wouldn't get a fair shake at

368
00:20:06.880 --> 00:20:08.319
things because he was a black man.

369
00:20:08.759 --> 00:20:11.000
Tony Clayton all but laughed at that notion.

370
00:20:11.920 --> 00:20:15.119
Derek was absolutely gonna get a fair shake at things

371
00:20:15.279 --> 00:20:19.640
because Tony would ensure of it again, not because of race,

372
00:20:19.960 --> 00:20:22.519
but because he wanted to make damn sure that evil

373
00:20:22.640 --> 00:20:27.839
never walked free again. Especially on a technicality. The court

374
00:20:27.880 --> 00:20:31.359
battle wasn't a race issue. This was a good versus

375
00:20:31.400 --> 00:20:35.519
evil issue, and good one. The jury made up of

376
00:20:35.640 --> 00:20:38.960
men and women, black, white and Hispanic.

377
00:20:39.160 --> 00:20:41.880
They all knew evil not only when they heard it,

378
00:20:42.039 --> 00:20:43.079
but when they saw it.

379
00:20:43.640 --> 00:20:46.279
And as Derek stared into the mounted mirror on his

380
00:20:46.400 --> 00:20:50.799
cell wall, the reflection he saw was exactly what everyone

381
00:20:50.839 --> 00:20:51.599
else said.

382
00:20:51.599 --> 00:20:55.240
It was a murdering, raping nobody.

383
00:20:56.319 --> 00:20:59.519
The cases against him were solid as a rock, and

384
00:20:59.559 --> 00:21:01.759
there was nothing Derek could do about it.

385
00:21:02.839 --> 00:21:03.880
So, as he paced the.

386
00:21:03.839 --> 00:21:06.880
Cell and his anger continued to boil over about being caught,

387
00:21:07.359 --> 00:21:11.799
he remained unremorseful, defiant, and unwilling to accept that it

388
00:21:11.880 --> 00:21:15.799
was over. His lawyers didn't waste any time after his

389
00:21:15.920 --> 00:21:19.079
convictions before they filed an appeal to his death sentencing.

390
00:21:19.680 --> 00:21:21.519
And I certainly do not want to bore you with

391
00:21:21.640 --> 00:21:24.440
legal specifics, but I want to give you the full story,

392
00:21:24.759 --> 00:21:26.880
so I'm going to give you the basics in brief.

393
00:21:27.680 --> 00:21:30.960
Among the issues cited in the appeals filed for Dereck

394
00:21:31.039 --> 00:21:35.240
Toddley's case were the following. His attorneys argued that his

395
00:21:35.400 --> 00:21:38.880
DNA should not have been legally taken back in Zachary

396
00:21:39.160 --> 00:21:43.319
when the Attorney General's investigator Mixon swabbed him. The argument

397
00:21:43.359 --> 00:21:46.160
here was threefold. First of all, they said he did

398
00:21:46.200 --> 00:21:48.359
not consent to having his cheeks swabbed.

399
00:21:49.000 --> 00:21:50.279
They also argued.

400
00:21:49.960 --> 00:21:53.519
There was no constitutional basis for the Attorney General's office

401
00:21:53.559 --> 00:21:57.160
to get his DNA. Now, this revolved around a person's

402
00:21:57.279 --> 00:22:03.319
constitutional right to reasonable expectations of privacy and unreasonable search

403
00:22:03.400 --> 00:22:06.759
and seizure. Your DNA falls under this if you do

404
00:22:06.839 --> 00:22:10.519
not know what is more private than your DNA. Now,

405
00:22:10.519 --> 00:22:12.680
hold on a second. I know what you're yelling at

406
00:22:12.680 --> 00:22:15.440
me right now. But he left his DNA at the scene,

407
00:22:15.519 --> 00:22:18.359
they know it was him. What does it matter? But

408
00:22:18.440 --> 00:22:23.680
the answer here is procedural law. In essence, even though

409
00:22:23.720 --> 00:22:26.359
the evidence they got from Derek todd Lee through his

410
00:22:26.480 --> 00:22:30.480
DNA swabbing proved to be good evidence, if it were

411
00:22:30.519 --> 00:22:32.079
collected in a bad way.

412
00:22:32.440 --> 00:22:32.680
I e.

413
00:22:32.920 --> 00:22:36.759
Proper procedure wasn't followed, then that evidence should have been

414
00:22:36.799 --> 00:22:40.920
thrown out. If it was thrown out, guys, this could

415
00:22:40.960 --> 00:22:46.440
overturn his conviction. So here's the gripe. The document Attorney

416
00:22:46.440 --> 00:22:49.759
General Investigator Danny Mixon got signed by the judge was

417
00:22:49.799 --> 00:22:53.240
a subpoena for Derek's DNA, and that falls under what

418
00:22:53.319 --> 00:22:57.160
is called dusis teacum. His lawyers argued that that was

419
00:22:57.200 --> 00:23:01.359
not a sufficient form of forcing DNA collection because that

420
00:23:01.440 --> 00:23:04.559
usually applies to forcing someone to turn over things like

421
00:23:04.720 --> 00:23:07.960
phone records or financial documents or something.

422
00:23:07.720 --> 00:23:08.519
Of that nature.

423
00:23:09.279 --> 00:23:13.279
A warrant, well, that's much more compelling, and that is

424
00:23:13.279 --> 00:23:16.160
what their argument was, that should have been gotten so

425
00:23:16.279 --> 00:23:19.720
as not to infringe on the unreasonable search and seizure

426
00:23:19.839 --> 00:23:23.480
rights per the Constitution. Now, if you're rolling your eyes

427
00:23:23.519 --> 00:23:26.079
at this, I'm going to advise you that you might

428
00:23:26.119 --> 00:23:31.000
need to stop because the reality is this today this

429
00:23:31.200 --> 00:23:36.119
is absolutely accurate. But back then it was a standard

430
00:23:36.160 --> 00:23:40.039
practice to get the duces tiakam subpoena for DNA, not

431
00:23:40.160 --> 00:23:45.039
a warrant. But now that was becoming an issue. Regardless

432
00:23:45.079 --> 00:23:47.839
though it was now in the courts being argued, and

433
00:23:47.960 --> 00:23:51.240
this meant his execution would be delayed until further notice

434
00:23:51.279 --> 00:23:54.400
and rulings. This case would actually make it all the

435
00:23:54.400 --> 00:23:57.640
way to the Supreme Court of Louisiana. That is how

436
00:23:57.720 --> 00:24:00.400
huge this appeal was, and it would take years for

437
00:24:00.440 --> 00:24:03.640
a decision. It would take until two thousand and eight

438
00:24:03.720 --> 00:24:06.480
for the court to make their final decision. And in short,

439
00:24:06.720 --> 00:24:10.799
this was their ruling. They agreed. They agreed with Derreck

440
00:24:10.839 --> 00:24:14.839
Todd Lee a warrant should have been sought, not the

441
00:24:14.920 --> 00:24:20.039
duces Teakum subpoena. They agreed that Derek did not freely consent,

442
00:24:20.440 --> 00:24:24.240
but merely gave his DNA because he had to, because

443
00:24:24.240 --> 00:24:27.880
he was unaware of the insufficiency of the subpoena for

444
00:24:27.960 --> 00:24:33.640
the DNA collection purposes. However, there is also another concept

445
00:24:33.680 --> 00:24:37.920
in law known as inevitable discovery, which in essence says

446
00:24:37.960 --> 00:24:41.720
that if a mistake was made, law enforcement was still

447
00:24:41.759 --> 00:24:44.920
able to get his DNA later on after legal and

448
00:24:45.000 --> 00:24:49.519
proper arrest, which absolutely confirmed he was the serial killer.

449
00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:53.480
Basically stated they were going to get this DNA either way.

450
00:24:54.400 --> 00:24:57.400
That said, the state was slapped on the hand for

451
00:24:57.519 --> 00:25:01.119
not getting the warrant in the initial swabbings. However, the

452
00:25:01.200 --> 00:25:05.319
swabbings done after arrest would have proven him the killer anyway.

453
00:25:06.160 --> 00:25:11.240
Derek Toddley's appeal was denied, but it still didn't end here.

454
00:25:11.960 --> 00:25:15.880
His team would file multiple appeals over the following years.

455
00:25:16.200 --> 00:25:19.160
In Jeraland's case, he filed a direct appeal in two

456
00:25:19.200 --> 00:25:23.319
thousand and seven, but he lost. In Charlotte's case, he

457
00:25:23.400 --> 00:25:27.000
filed a direct appeal in two thousand and eight, he lost.

458
00:25:27.640 --> 00:25:30.160
He petitioned the US Supreme Court in two thousand and

459
00:25:30.240 --> 00:25:33.920
nine with a complaint that his conviction vote was non unanimous.

460
00:25:34.319 --> 00:25:37.519
His petition was granted by the way, but it was

461
00:25:37.559 --> 00:25:41.200
consolidated with other cases that were similar, and the specific

462
00:25:41.319 --> 00:25:46.160
legal challenge did not overturn his sentence. He then filed

463
00:25:46.160 --> 00:25:50.440
for what's called post conviction relief in twenty fourteen, basically

464
00:25:50.480 --> 00:25:53.319
stated he wanted a whole new trial because he said

465
00:25:53.319 --> 00:25:57.319
he had ineffective counsel, mental illness that was never brought up,

466
00:25:57.559 --> 00:26:02.440
and a juror bringing a Bible into delay liberations. Obviously,

467
00:26:02.640 --> 00:26:05.799
I don't have to tell you this, but that went nowhere.

468
00:26:07.079 --> 00:26:11.279
He then filed another appeal in twenty fifteen, and this

469
00:26:11.359 --> 00:26:16.079
went to the Louisiana Supreme Court, which they denied. Then

470
00:26:16.119 --> 00:26:20.240
in twenty sixteen, he filed another appeal, which was on

471
00:26:20.359 --> 00:26:24.240
its way to the federal level when on January sixteenth,

472
00:26:24.359 --> 00:26:27.839
twenty sixteen, a call for help was sent from death Row.

473
00:26:28.720 --> 00:26:31.359
Derek Tudley had been ill and was found to be

474
00:26:31.400 --> 00:26:35.559
suffering a medical emergency. As his policy, he was given

475
00:26:35.559 --> 00:26:38.519
immediate medical treatment and was rushed by ambulance to Lane

476
00:26:38.519 --> 00:26:42.119
Memorial Hospital. It was known that Derek had a pacemaker

477
00:26:42.319 --> 00:26:44.319
and his heart was believed to be the cause of

478
00:26:44.359 --> 00:26:48.160
his medical decline. For five days he was treated in

479
00:26:48.200 --> 00:26:50.519
the hospital, and I can't help but wonder what the

480
00:26:50.599 --> 00:26:53.880
nurse's thought as they brought him his medications and his

481
00:26:54.000 --> 00:26:57.640
pain relief meds for his comfort. I know that medical

482
00:26:57.680 --> 00:27:00.839
professionals vow to do no harm, but in this case,

483
00:27:01.160 --> 00:27:03.960
it would have been so justified to not want to

484
00:27:04.000 --> 00:27:08.759
care for him. Poor Lynn Marino, Pam's mother, who fought

485
00:27:08.839 --> 00:27:11.480
tooth and nail for all of those years to see

486
00:27:11.519 --> 00:27:12.279
him executed.

487
00:27:12.480 --> 00:27:12.640
Well.

488
00:27:12.680 --> 00:27:15.319
She had been diagnosed with cancer and had passed away

489
00:27:15.480 --> 00:27:19.319
just months prior, never getting to see him executed. But

490
00:27:19.400 --> 00:27:22.039
as the sun rose on his fifth day at the hospital,

491
00:27:22.640 --> 00:27:26.920
his condition continued to deteriorate and just before nine am

492
00:27:27.119 --> 00:27:30.880
on January twenty first, twenty sixteen, Dereck Toddley took his

493
00:27:31.200 --> 00:27:36.640
very last breath. The South Louisiana serial killer was dead.

494
00:27:37.960 --> 00:27:41.119
While Hell certainly rejoiced, the truth was that no one

495
00:27:41.160 --> 00:27:43.960
could really say they felt good about it, certainly not

496
00:27:44.000 --> 00:27:46.240
the families who had waited so long for him to

497
00:27:46.240 --> 00:27:49.000
be executed, just to find out he died in a

498
00:27:49.079 --> 00:27:54.680
bed at a hospital. But alas he was gone forever.

499
00:27:55.599 --> 00:27:59.000
No more appeals, no more seeing his face on TV,

500
00:27:59.720 --> 00:28:01.640
and no no more wondering if he may be released

501
00:28:01.640 --> 00:28:07.759
on a technicality. Dereck Todd Lee was no more, and

502
00:28:07.799 --> 00:28:10.480
so we arrive at the end of this long and

503
00:28:10.559 --> 00:28:15.000
painful story. Over the course of this series, we've traced

504
00:28:15.079 --> 00:28:18.400
the life and crimes of Dereck Todd Lee, the fear

505
00:28:18.519 --> 00:28:22.960
that gripped Baton Rouge, the investigations that stretched across parishes,

506
00:28:23.319 --> 00:28:27.319
the missteps, the breakthroughs, and the relentless work that finally

507
00:28:27.400 --> 00:28:32.039
brought the violence to an end. We've examined systems and

508
00:28:32.200 --> 00:28:35.920
science and the human cost of error. But if this

509
00:28:35.960 --> 00:28:40.519
story has taught us anything, let it be this. This

510
00:28:40.759 --> 00:28:45.519
was never truly a story about Derek todd Lee. It

511
00:28:45.599 --> 00:28:49.359
was the story of the women whose lives were stolen,

512
00:28:49.799 --> 00:28:53.839
women who woke up on ordinary mornings and never went home,

513
00:28:54.720 --> 00:28:58.640
women whose laughter once filled rooms, whose ambitions stretched into

514
00:28:58.720 --> 00:29:03.279
futures that they or denied. Their names deserve to be

515
00:29:03.359 --> 00:29:07.839
spoken more than his. Their faces deserved to be remembered

516
00:29:07.880 --> 00:29:12.839
more clearly than his. Serial killers often loom large in

517
00:29:12.920 --> 00:29:17.400
headlines and documentaries. Their names become shorthand for horror. But

518
00:29:17.559 --> 00:29:22.240
when we focus on them, even unintentionally, we risk shrinking

519
00:29:22.279 --> 00:29:26.279
the people they harmed into footnotes. And the truth is,

520
00:29:26.880 --> 00:29:29.480
the real gravity of this case is not found in

521
00:29:29.519 --> 00:29:33.440
the pathology of one man. It's found in the empty

522
00:29:33.559 --> 00:29:37.559
chairs during family holiday get togethers and birthdays that are

523
00:29:37.559 --> 00:29:42.799
now anniversaries of loss, and the quiet, lifelong grief carried

524
00:29:42.839 --> 00:29:47.400
by those family members left behind. We've also seen how

525
00:29:47.440 --> 00:29:52.000
communities respond to terror. Baton Rouge was tested by fear,

526
00:29:52.359 --> 00:29:56.319
by uncertainty, by doubt and the institutions meant to protect,

527
00:29:56.920 --> 00:30:00.480
and yet we saw perseverance. We saw families who refuse

528
00:30:00.559 --> 00:30:03.960
to let their loved ones be forgotten. We saw investigators

529
00:30:03.960 --> 00:30:08.039
who kept pushing. We saw advances in forensic science that

530
00:30:08.079 --> 00:30:11.519
would change how cases are solved across the country. Out

531
00:30:11.559 --> 00:30:17.799
of unimaginable pain came hard lessons about human error, about urgency,

532
00:30:18.240 --> 00:30:22.720
and about the responsibility to listen when patterns emerge.

533
00:30:22.759 --> 00:30:23.359
There is no.

534
00:30:23.599 --> 00:30:28.480
Satisfying resolution or redemptive quality to a story like this,

535
00:30:29.400 --> 00:30:33.640
and arrest does not restore a life, a conviction does

536
00:30:33.680 --> 00:30:38.200
not heal a family, and justice in these cases it's limited.

537
00:30:38.920 --> 00:30:43.319
It's necessary, but it's just not enough. What we are

538
00:30:43.400 --> 00:30:47.279
left with is memory. If you've listened all the way

539
00:30:47.319 --> 00:30:50.680
through this series, you've carried these stories with you, and

540
00:30:50.720 --> 00:30:59.480
that matters. Bearing witness matters, remembering matters, Saying their names matters.

541
00:31:00.519 --> 00:31:02.759
I invite you to sit not with the darkness of

542
00:31:02.759 --> 00:31:05.400
what one man did, but with the light of the

543
00:31:05.480 --> 00:31:13.319
lives that were lived, brief, vibrant, irreplaceable lives. Connie Warner,

544
00:31:14.359 --> 00:31:23.440
Randy Meebrewer, Eugenet Woiffontaine, Gina Green, Christine Moore, Charlotte Murray Pace,

545
00:31:24.559 --> 00:31:30.720
Pam Kinnemore, Maryann Fowler, and Carrie Yoder. Let them be

546
00:31:30.920 --> 00:31:34.599
more than victims in a true crime narrative. Let them

547
00:31:34.599 --> 00:31:37.799
be human beings whose stories continue through the people who

548
00:31:37.880 --> 00:31:40.400
love them and through all of us who refuse to

549
00:31:40.480 --> 00:31:45.200
let them fade into history. Let this series be about resilience,

550
00:31:45.599 --> 00:31:48.880
about the pursuit of truth, and about the enduring dignity

551
00:31:49.079 --> 00:31:52.559
of those who can no longer speak for themselves. May

552
00:31:52.599 --> 00:31:55.960
we remember them for who they were, May we remember

553
00:31:56.000 --> 00:31:59.880
them for what happened, And may we never forget that

554
00:32:00.119 --> 00:32:03.359
behind every headline is a human life that mattered.

555
00:32:04.440 --> 00:32:06.400
This was DTL